OneWeb is backed by the Bharti group along with other promoters including the UK Government and more. The satcom company is looking to offers satellite broadband internet in India from June 2022. Bharti Airtel has clarified that it isn’t looking to invest more than $7 to $8 million (USD) in the Indian entity of the company. This doesn’t mean it won’t ever invest an amount more than this. But the company has clarified that out of the amount that it is raising in the near term, it won’t be investing any more than $7 to $8 million (USD) in OneWeb’s Indian entity.
Adding to this, On Monday, Bharti Airtel has firmly said that it would not divert funds to purchase a further stake in Indus Towers. The company has already purchased an additional 5% stake in the Indus Towers and because of that, it has received an extra seat on the board which will give Bharti more control over the company. Since Indus Towers is a critical asset for a mobile company, this puts Bharti in a very good position.
Bharti Airtel Satisfied With Its Spectrum Portfolio
Bharti Airtel is satisfied with its spectrum portfolio. The telco doesn’t think it needs any more spectrum apart from airwaves for providing 5G services. Airtel has already made enough investments in its 4G networks and core to rollout better services for the users.
Bharti Airtel does want the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to fairly price the spectrum since its base price is too high at the moment. If the spectrum is expensive, the telcos would just ignore buying.
Sunil Bharti Mittal has already clarified that Airtel will be coming out with live 5G networks in India in select cities first. This will help the telco in understanding the user needs better and also allow it to maximise its revenues from circles that have the most scope for successful 5G services.
